Sunday, November 07, 2010

Life Lessons

1: Stuff happens and sometimes it isn’t fairWe are all dealt a different hand in life, it is how we deal with it that matters. So focus on living with what you’ve got and dump any perceived injustices. Life’s unfair – get over it!

2: Life is a transition – have no regretsIt is very easy to become set in our ways, to live in our comfort zone and to think that things are forever. Remember that everything is just a moment in time, the future is unknown and the only guarantee is that it will be different! Every experience you’ve already had has now gone. So recognise the transitional nature of everything – enjoy it and then let go. Regrets get you nowhere, reframe regrets into learning.

3: Become flexibleIn today’s world, flexibility is a must! The goal posts change in even the best laid plans – and “stuff” will happen to those plans. Expect change, plan for it.

4: It isn’t a popularity contest – you don’t have to please everyoneAccept that not everyone will like you, so focus your time and energy on the people that do like and appreciate you. If other people expend energy on not liking you, that’s their “small stuff” – just ignore it.

5: Practice calmBe the calm in the eye of the storm. You do not need to be stressed and panicked just because the people around you are stressed and panicked. Take time to work out what you can and can’t influence and focus only on that.

6: Don’t live your life in the ERWhen we turn little things into urgent actions, our whole life becomes a constant emergency. Become aware of how often you get angry, frustrated, overwhelmed by what in reality is small stuff. Put a name to your triggers and learn to catch yourself.

7: Will it matter tomorrow?Remember, today’s news is tomorrow’s chip paper. If it won’t matter tomorrow, it is likely to be small stuff and not worth bothering about.

As the esteemed author Steven Covey famously demonstrates in his “First things First” seminars, if you don’t tackle your big objectives first, you will never find the time to tackle them at all.

The reason people like Tamara Mellon succeed is because they focus all their energy on their “Big Hairy Audacious Goals” and do not waste their time on the small stuff – it’s a good lesson for us all.